Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

25 May 2020, 12:47 by Danessa Lincoln

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 46.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,633 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,327 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.15% of Williams-Sonoma worth $5,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shine Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. CFM Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Arden Trust Co purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Marshall Wace North America L.P. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.16% of the company’s stock.

In other news, Director Adrian D. P. Bellamy acquired 9,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.55 per share, for a total transaction of $485,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 74,666 shares in the company, valued at $3,774,366.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 17,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total transaction of $1,243,177.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 519,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,495,439.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,177 shares of company stock worth $1,909,694. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $70.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $68.00 to $45.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $70.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, May 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

NYSE:WSM opened at $66.49 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.60. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.01 and a twelve month high of $77.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 23rd. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.67%.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as a multi-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It operates through two segments, E-commerce and Retail. The company offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, including cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma Home brand; and furniture, bedding, bathroom accessories, rugs, curtains, lighting, tabletop, outdoor, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.